Strike: Muhimbili forms mediation team

The Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) management has formed a committee
to mediate between the government and striking doctors, to help break an
impasse that has paralysed medical services on an unprecedented scale in
Tanzania’s post-independence history.

Formation ofthe team that
comprises specialist doctors,was the
outcome of a meeting convened by the MNH Executive Director, Dr Marina
Njelekela, to discuss the appalling conditions at the country’s leading medical
facility.

According to the MNH Senior Public Relations Officer, Mr Aminiel
Eligaesha, the specialists, none of whom has been participating in the
strike,expressed dismay over the
consistently deteriorating situation at the hospital, as the ongoing strike had
been affecting innocent patients.

Dr Njelekela

“The specialist doctors resolved that the committee’s main task would
be to create a forum for discussions between the government and striking
doctors,to resolve the impasse and set
the stage for servicesto resume. They
are proposing that the point man on the government side should be the Prime
Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda,” he said.

He told journalists that thefive-member team, whose members he didn’t disclose,was confident that it would have laid the
groundwork for the proposed meetingby
the middle of next week.

“We hope that this initiative willyield positive developments inthis sorry state of health services. We hope that they will be able to
bring thetwosides together, and that they will resolve
their differences and reach an amicable agreement,” he said.

Thenearly three-hour long
meeting at MNH was held in camera, Dr Njelekelahaving told journalists earlier that the doctors needed privacy to
discuss the sensitive issue.

She had, however, promised tobrief them on its highlights later, but didn’t do so. This was the first
time that Dr Njelekela had appeared in public sincethe saga started brewing nearly two weeks
ago.

It was initially triggered bythe government’s move to crack down on aggrieved medical interns, and
deepened when their senior professional colleagues joinedthem in solidarity.

Meanwhile, spot checks by The Citizen at Amana hospital in Ilala
Municipality and that of Temeke established that patients from Muhimbili have
been reporting to the hospitals for treatment.

A nurse on duty at Amana Hospital confirmed that they had experienced
an increasein the number of patients
since the strike started at Muhimbili hospital.

Mr Joachim John said hehad
relocated a relativewithintestine complications to Amana, after
staying at Muhimbili without being attended to for three consecutive days. The
patient had been referred there from Morogoro Regional Hospital, he explained
further.

He said four otherpatients in
the same ward with his relative hadbeen
relocated there from elsewhere.

“The government, the President
in particular, should take immediate actions to make sure doctors resume work…
they should not prolong their issues at the expense of our lives,”Mr John said.

Visits by The Citizento private
hospitals did not reveal considerable changes.An official at Regency Hospital in Upanga said the number of patients
was fairly constant, explaining, by the way, that many customers were seeking
laboratory services.

Meanwhile, Mr Eligaesha said thatafter the arrival of military doctors who started manning the Emergency
Medical Department of MNH on Tuesday, the turnout of patientsthere began to pick up.

He said by last Tuesday evening the department received about 25
patients from less than 10 patients who have been going there previously,
during the strike period.

In related developments, the Tanzania Union of Government and Health
Employees (Tughe) has called on the government to hold talks with the striking
doctors immediately,to savethe lives of patients.

The deputy Secretary general of Tughe, Mr John Sanjo, said the
government was supposed to end problems in the healthcare sector once and for
all, by implementingthe contract terms
of the health sector public servants.

“While the talks would be on progress,however, we are appealing to the striking doctors to resume services and
save the lives of our fellow Tanzanians,” he said.

He said the Tughe supported all demands by striking doctors and the
Government had to address them.

Source: The Citizen,www.thecitizen.co.tz, reported by Bernard Lugongo and Mkinga Mkinga